BBC: CATS’ hunger for flesh has ..them branded “SERIAL KILLERS”

OK my cat enjoys the hunt, likes to chase about anything,
kills yet he’s well fed, and is proud to drop a critter at my feet.
So what! He’s cute and he purrs. We need to honor our kitty cousins.
As they sit in your lap purring, just think, if they were your size,
they would hunt you down, torture you and drag you off somewhere for
consumption at a later date;)

My outdoor cat, resting up for “the chase.”

by the "pro-vermin" lobby. I can just see those little rats typing away frantically.....:silly:

Maybe he's psyching himself up for the kill. Or maybe he's plotting how he's gonna eat you.

All I know is if there is such a thing as reincarnation I want to come back as one of our cats. The lazy bastards sleep about 18 hours a day and usually get fed whenever they squawk. The dogs don't have it near as easy.

...he'd really like to take a bite of my leg, but I love him anyway. Cute little guy.

Everyone knows orange kitties are the fiercest predators on the planet. Especially this guy:



We calls this one "Mister TEETH!"

slavishly,
Bright

...fierce 'take no prisoners' attitude.
They DEMAND respect, they do.

friendly and loyal. Somewhere I read that we actually share some DNA with cats...goes way back to Egypt or someting. They got the better end of the deal I'd say;)

...and can be brutal. But I realize that this stalking / killing is in their chemistry and is not a moral defect on their part.
Anyway, I still enjoy the company of cats better than 99.9% of the people that I am obligated to share the planet with...the cats are less violent.

I have a T shirt that says "The more people I meet, the more I like my cat."

Amen. Love my 4 furries

Maybe we could get someone Cat-like to do some political consulting for us.

so they don't rip up the furniture.

Sorry....I don't want to imprison any animal.

If allowed to roam they can take a toll on the local bird populations.


http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/

isn't a meaningless aphorism.

I have put a bell on his collar to even up the odds.

Here is Ren kicking a pear's butt:

And he's green. You don't need any bug spray other unnatural items.

I think that the pear is goner...practice for bigger things;)

he keeps our part pit bull dog in line

that pear is in major trouble :) Also the bell is
really a good thing to do especially with birds.

which we, of course, reclaimed and set free, thus the bell. Lately he has started sitting on my desk looking out the window at birds in the garden. That seems to be a good solution to his bird habit. I do wake up to gophers and mice in my slippers, however, from time to time. Ugh.

would chase the mice that got into the house, and leave the dead ones for her ON HER BED! YUCK! The best story was the one she told me about waking up in the middle of the night because the cat was under the bed chasing a mouse and literally making the mattress move up and down....

I have loved several cats in the past. I don't think of them as serial killers,
but they basically are such when let loose upon legions of animals that have no
evolutionary defense to them. UK and American songbirds etc are in great danger
due to introduced predation by domestic cats. I'm sorry if it offends people
but its a fact. I had a good friend who had a cat who used to bring 3-4 moles
in a night during a certain part of the year. He has since kept the cat as an
indoor cat. It sucks, the cat bitches sometimes but when you view the collective
impact that cat owners could have by keeping their cats indoors its rather staggering.
If you are in an urban environment where you think your cat will feed on excess
rats etc then go for it. The sad truth is most cats don't conform to this rule and I love
them but I'm just being honest. Sorry cat lovers.

got together in the first place. Because they're hunting prowess was beneficial to us, the cuteness was secondary. Now, it's the cuteness and the hunting prowess can be a detriment.

BTW, your cat looks like he could kick ass and take names.

Cats were very helpful on tall ships by protecting the food store from rats.

My cat is a real "Leo" but he's also a neighborhood favorite. He makes a tour of
homes and is treated like a visiting dignitary, lounges for while, collects his tribute
in the form of food, and then moves on. Even the neighbors who disapprove of our
Democratic signs in the front yard love the cat. He's non partisan when it comes to
milk and being petted. What a life. He's only out a couple of times a day. Tough life.

...which is OK with me, because the world doesn't need more stupid grackles and sparrows- which is about all they catch.
That leaves the smarter ones to breed. :silly:

They catch mice, too. The rule is "What happens outside, STAYS outside." If they try to bring their prizes inside to play with them, I take them away.
I remember one time Kaminari caught a bird and came trotting in with it, Misha right on her heels. They were going to play 'volleybird' in the livingroom...but 'Mom' took the bird away and set it free.

They've never brought me 'presents' though...guess they feel I don't need lessons in how to hunt.

Read somewhere that if your kitty brings you presents, you should praise them extravagantly. If you don't, they think they're not doing a good enough job as a hunter and will try even harder.
Don't know how true that is...:shrug:

cockroaches and other bugs don't stand a chance with my strictly indoor kitty Oberon guarding the house, thank goodness!

:wow:
that mane, and those tufted ears and those golden eyes...and that expression!

I had my parakeet escape from the cage one time. The cat didn't even hurt her.

forget the songbirds, that guy could take a toll on the Goose population if he got out.

they came from domestic cats which mated with wild cats (bobcat, lynx) in New England 400 years ago, but they have no wild traits aside from size and bone structure. They're just big babies.

Here's his grandparents (no, they're not photoshopped):







Next to my ten pound kitty Puck:



No related, just another big Maine Coon:

I knew that Maine Coons were a large breed, but I had no idea they could get *that* big.
Gorgeous too!

wow

That last pic is especially good at capturing their contradictory nature, beautiful but what's he thinking about?

either he's being as lazy as most house cats are:







or he is demanding play. Fortunately, he adores foster kittens and makes a great surrogate papa (this first kitten is now as big as he is)!:

Gorgeous cat and gorgeous pics. Have you ever thought about sending them in to a website called Cute Overload?

http://cuteoverload.com/

Pics five and six would be perfect for a category they have called
'I shall leeck you'. I don't think you get any prizes per se, except honor, but you'd be a shoo in.

the kitten ones are a bit dark, but there's a chance they would pass. Thanks for the tip! :hi:

Thanks for the pics. This is quite a cat. I've found that when cats have enough food, they're very decent with each other. We're a (ahmm...cough) multi cat family. The guy above is just fine with the indoor cousins. Nobody competes for food at any point (and they're all pretty trim). We ahve one who stretches out on his back just like your pic. I understand that means they feel very secure and safe. Your cat is a happy guy! Kittens and people for pets, food, and that great cat castle. Bet he's glad you kept the kittens.

make for happy felines. Mine get the organic, human grade stuff, so no recall worries here!

Actually, all the kittens found great homes elsewhere. I was a foster for a while until panleukapenia came into my home (a disease that can kill a kitten in 24 hours). Now it's off limits to kittens for another six months. Poor Oberon misses his little charges! He sure did love playing daddy to each and every one that came through here.

:)

occasional fly to chase.

he's going to be in their wedding this weekend. Like your kitty, he already looks like he's wearing a suit!

Natural born killers. Somebody has to do it. All part of the "circle of life" and all that touchy feely hippy stuff.

Didn't somebody once say "God made the cat so that man could caress the tiger"?

heheh. A couple of fosters from last year:







Well, much of the time, anyway.

he's still killing something in his dreams.

I wouldn't be surprised. She was quite a handful. Even the big blue eyes didn't deceive anyone. ;-)

Even wild cats share this cute feature in youth. Great pics :)

I had one of those once:

Case in point: "Jack the cat":





http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5067912.stm

My regards to "The Mayor"

:hi:

Talk about authority! The cat has irresistible Cat-risma, treeing a bear. I'm totally impressed.

:hi:

The Mayor says he's impressed with this, very impressed.

This thread is killing me. That cat is one tough kitty. My
friends big ol tabby used to try to stalk wild turkeys in Florida
when they passed through his backyard. However, when the turkeys
turned around and saw him he would head for the nearest tree or
the house. This cat obviously is made of sterner stuff :)

and they have the need to satisfy or at least maintain their wildness for survival. As cute as they are and as loving as they can be, they are hunters. I have 3, 2 female and 1 tom and I know how Cats are and the nature of this sharp senced animal having lived with them for over a decade.

heeheehheheehe

bite they little heads off, nibble on they tiny feet!

Glad to know that there's another Kliban fan around here. ;-)

time to time. Kind of like- what are you going to do about these little pests, mother? But they love looking out the window at the birds, every day I get to listen to their little creaky/chattering noise (you guys know what I am talking about right) when they hear a bird. Thats a strange sound...

happy they're actually awake and doing something productive.

Interesting on the sound though. Maybe your crew has some advanced communication going,
harbingers for the "new" cat, fully satisfied by virtual stalking and imaginary kills;)

Now that would be good news.

a cat will eat you while you are still warm for the hell of it? They don't exactly know why.